This Final Act From Fallen Troops Shows A Level Of Sacrifice Most Of Us Can't Imagine

American service members risk their lives in the line of duty so
that other people may live and enjoy freedoms worth fighting for.

That sobering truth is all the more real in the intensive care
unit of the U.S. Army's Landstuhl
Regional Medical Center, Germany, where combat casualties
from Afghanistan, and previously Iraq, are flown in enroute to
the U.S.

Organs from those troops, who were pronounced brain dead, were
donated to patients in desperate need of a transplant.

Twenty-one year old Marine Cpl. Sean Osterman was one of those
heroes.

His mother, Kelly Hugo, recounted to Zoroya that she traveled
through a December snowstorm two years ago to arrive in Germany
where she saw Sean for the last time. The U.S. military
flies family members to the medical center for an emotional but
much-needed "final reunion".

Cpl. Osterman had been deployed to Helmand province when he was
severely wounded in combat. Devastating shots to his face caused
irreversible brain damage and he was put on a ventilator to keep
his body going. At Landstuhl medical center, his mother was
gently asked about organ donation.

She didn't hesitate to approve three, including her son's heart.

"Something good has to come out of something bad," she
said.

A single service member can provide multiple transplants, saving
numerous more lives.

Data collected by the German foundation for organ donations shows
the highest number of transplants took place in 2010, with ten
fallen service members making 47 donations possible. A complete
chart of the compelling data over the last several years is
available via USA Today
here.

What happens at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center — miles from
the frontline in Afghanistan — illustrates a touching impact on
the lives of everyday people by those who wore the uniform.